MY THOUGHTS ON THIS ARE SIMILAR TO THE IDEAS EXPRESSED IN THE ARTICLE. THAT THE 2012 END OF THE WORLD DATE IS MORE OF A WESTERN HELD BELIEF THAT HIJACKED AND MISINTERPRETED A PART OF THE MAYAN CULTURE AND SKEWED IT. IT ALSO SHOWS SOCIETY'S TENDANCY TO TAKE SOMETHING AND RUN RATHER THAN INVEST THE PROPER TIME AND RESOURCES TO COME TO A FULL UNDERSTANDING.

PERHAPS PARTLY DUE TO IGNORANCE, PARTYL LAZINESS, PARTLY BECAUSE IT IN A ROUND ABOUT WAY LENDS CREDENCE TO SOME RELIGOUS ASPECTS, MORE SO THE END OF THE WORLD AND THE RETURN OF THE CHRIST. WHAT BETTER WAY TO GET PEOPLE TO CONVERT OR REPENT THEN TO LET THE IDEA THAT THE WORLD WILL END IN A FEW SHORT YEARS INFILTRATE THE MEDIA AND THE MASSES. MAY NOT BE THE MOST HONEST THING TO DO BUT PRETTY EFFECTIVE EH. MAYBE THE END OF THE WORLD WILL NOT COME IN 2012, BUT IT DOES PLAY INTO THE CHRISTIAN VIEW THAT THE END OF THE WORLD IS FAST UPON US AND WE SHOULD DO ALL WE CAN TO GET BACK INTO THE GOOD GRACES OF GOD. AFTERALL, THE MAYAS SEEMED TO KNOW SOMETHING IMPORTANT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN IN 2012, AND THAT THE LAST CRYPTIC GLYPH (AS THE ARTICLE SAID) COULD BE INTERPRETED AS "HE WILL DESCEND FROM THE SKY". JUST ENOUGH THERE TO MAKE IT ALL SEEM PLAUSIBLE.

PLAUSIBLE, BUT IS THAT VIEW OF 2012 REACHING JUST A BIT? MOST LIKELY, SEEING HOW THE 2012 DATE IS BEING MISINTERPRETED AND USED IN A FALSE LIGHT IN THAT PARTICULAR SCENERIO. USING THE 2012 DATE AS THE END OF THE MAYAN CALENDER AND THUS THE END OF THE WORLD, IS LIKE TAKING A SMALL SNIPPET (2 LINES) OUT OF CONTEXT(A 5,000 PAGE BOOK) TO MAKE A POINT. IT IS BAD PRACTICE. IN ORDER TO FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IS BEING SAID YOU NEED TO LOOK AT IT IN ITS ENTIRITY AND HOW IT RELATES TO THE WHOLE. THAT BEING SAID, TO UNDERTAND WHAT IS MEANT BY THE 2012 MAYAN DATE, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE MAYAN CALANDER AS A WHOLE AND HOW THAT CALANDER RELATES BACK TO THE CULTURE.